BY JONATHAN HILL – Founded in 1999 with the intention of promoting and growing the sport of cricket in the Philippines, the Philippine Cricket Association (PCA) is getting ready for its biggest ever season in 2021 with not one but two ICC World Cup Regional Qualifier Tournaments scheduled to be contested by the Philippine teams Carabaos and Blue Caps.
With 2020 seeing a global pandemic and multiple typhoons heavily affecting sporting events in the Philippines the PCA is looking to 2021 as a year to rebuild and continue the positive growth that has been seen in cricket in the country in the last decade.
PHOTO – Start of PCA cricket tournament held in the Philippines
PCA will be planning to further expand its junior and senior male and female player bases, development programs, facilities and to further expand its reach in the local community. PCA’s National Teams will provide additional exposure to the sport locally and will give Filipino players the chance to both represent the nation and to test themselves against high quality opposition.
The Philippine Carabaos Men’s National Team will take the field in an 8 team tournament October in Japan looking to build on its second place finish in the 2019 Regional Qualifier.
With Papua New Guinea, as last Regional Qualifier champions already qualified directly for the Global Qualifier event the Carabaos have a golden opportunity to go a step further than previous Carabao squads by qualifying for the World Cup Qualifiers where they would compete against the best ICC Associate Member and some Full Member nations.
PCA was fortunate to secure the services of well-regarded coach Charlie Burke who as Head Coach of Hong Kong secured a famous victory for the side against Bangladesh in the 2014 T20 World Cup.
The Philippine Blue Caps Women’ National Team will make history in 2021, being the first Philippine women’s team to enter an official ICC event, which like the men’s debut event in 2011 will be held in Samoa.
With the tournament scheduled for September 2021 the PCA will be looking to see our women continue to develop and build momentum following their debut T20i series against Indonesia in 2019. PCA’s ethos is to provide equal opportunities to its players regardless of gender and are excited to see the Blue Caps continue to build towards success and take another positive step forward.
With these ICC events upcoming for 2021 the PCA would encourage any Australian based players who were either:
- Born in the Philippines or
- Hold Philippine citizenship, or alternatively
- Players of Filipino heritage
both male and female that are interested in representing the Philippines in T20i matches for these upcoming tournaments or for future tours to get in touch with the PCA. There is a contact link and further information found on the PCA website cricketphilippines.com under ‘How to Join’, ‘National Teams’. Additionally, anyone who is interested in following the progress of the PCA is encouraged to follow their facebook page ‘Philippine Cricket Association’ which provides the latest updates on all things cricket in the Philippines.
“Playing for the Philippines has been the pinnacle of my cricket career. I’ve had the chance to travel the world playing a game I love. Walking onto the field knowing that you represent an entire nation is a privilege that I never take for granted. I’ve made some great friends, have been involved in some heart stopping victories and strengthened my identity and heritage as a Filipino”…. JONATHAN HILL, Captain Philippine Men’s National Team
Contact PCA on Email: cricketphilippines@gmail.com or hilljonathan111@hotmail.com; Australian phone : 0416420392 (Jonathan Hill); Philippines cntact: +639178255221 (Faisal Khan)